Of Shopping, Seagulls, and Sunburned Noses
by Lune-Solei
Summary: You aren't going to take me shopping and play with my hair, are you' Mariemaia, Noin, Zechs friendship. Noin/Zechs. Sequel to of Teardrops and Misleading History


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gundam Wing.

**Title:** Of Shopping, Seagulls, and Sunburned Noses

**Author:** Jaelee

**Rating:** G

**Characters/Pairings:** Mariemaia, Noin/Zechs, Une

**Warnings:** None

**Author's Note:** Uhm, so this comes after _Of Teardrops and Misleading History_ and it's the longest in the series yet. Seriously. Its nine pages and over four thousand words. I have to admit that it ran away from me at a full-out sprint. I'd be really grateful if you commented and told me what you thought.

**Dedication:** To Rae because she's the one who helped me figure out the general plot. To Emu for reading it even though she doesn't know the series and was rather lost at some points.

--

"You aren't going to take me shopping or play with my hair or anything, are you?" she asks as soon as the couple enters. The woman standing in front of her gives her a wry look before she widens her eyes and grimaces.

"God no," Noin says while Zechs laughs next to her. It's not a _real_ laugh though; it's more of a small chuckle and fond light to his eyes. "That would be worse than death."

"Then why do you insist on taking me?" he asked her.

"Because you hate it more than I do." She grinned at him and then turned to Mariemaia. "I'll take you if you _really_ want me to. But don't worry; there are worse things than shopping and hair-playing. Oh, hello Lady Une."

"Thanks so much Noin, Zechs," Une says as she comes down the stairs into the entry. She's still pinning her long hair back in a twist and adjusting her suit jacket at the same time. Mariemaia marvels at her multitasking skills. "I still can't believe…well, can't do anything about it can we? Civil servants and all." She rolls her eyes for emphasis.

"Oh, please," Mariemaia drawls. "You enjoy it and you know it."

"Right, that's what I keep telling myself. Zechs, I'm expecting that report on my desk first thing Monday morning. Noin, good luck with the both of them." She hesitates briefly as she stares down at her adopted daughter before pulling her into a tight hug. "Behave yourself Marie; don't give them too much trouble."

"You'll miss your flight."

"We'll take good care of her Lady Une," Noin says. Zechs picks up her suitcase as Noin offers her a smile. "She's already told me how much she wants me to take her shopping." The head of Preventers raised an eyebrow and Noin laughed, tugging Mariemaia toward the car. "Have fun!" she calls as Une locks the door and heads for the waiting car.

--

"Is there anything you want to do over the weekend?" Noin asks calmly. She's putting away the dry dishes in the cabinet, watching her as she sits at the counter, finishing her math homework.

"Not really," Mariemaia answers. She flips a page and scribbles some more. She isn't sure what she expected their home to look like, but it wasn't this. Comfortable, cozy…she can almost feel at ease here (not that she doesn't feel at ease at her house because she does). She wonders who did the decorating, who picked out the small house on the ocean (which must have cost a small fortune).

She likes Noin. She really can't think of anyone who _wouldn't_ like Lucrezia Noin. She was just that type of person. Zechs on the other hand…he was an enigma that she had enjoyed studying during dinner. He had been polite, animated at a few occasions, doting to Noin, but had kept himself distant at the same time. Sometimes she caught him looking at her, caught him _analyzing_ her as she analyzed him and it threw her for a moment or three.

He had been polite when he'd excused himself and retreated to the office to work on the report for Une and there had seemed to be a tremor that ran through the room, an invisible, unheard conversation between Noin and him. She had voiced her annoyance at him having left when she and Noin had cleared and washed the dishes. Noin had smiled and told her he had made the meal.

She really shouldn't have been surprised.

"Nothing, at all?" Noin asked, surprise coating her words.

"I really don't enjoy going out into public," she replied evenly. With a frustrated sigh that sent her red hair flying she erased and restarted problem twelve for the third time. Give her history and she would ace it easily, English and she could write the most impressive pieces (except poetry), even Literature was better than _math_ (but math was infinitely better than gym she's found).

"I can understand that," Noin conceded. She laid the dishtowel down and leaned against the counter, watching her. "Feel free to wander the shoreline though and swim if you want tomorrow. No one around for a few miles except for the seagulls."

"That's nice."

Noin watched as she scribbled, erased, and scribbled again. "Do you need some help with that?" Mariemaia looked up, eyeing her carefully. "I was actually good at math, don't worry."

"Okay then…if you're sure," she said slowly.

"Alright, well, it's fairly simple…"

--

She doesn't know how long exactly she sits there, staring at him. He doesn't seem to notice her at first (but she _knows_ he does) as he continues reading whatever it is that's in his hands. Long enough for him to finish three chapters surely. Definitely long enough to get sunburned on the side of her folded knees and the back of her neck where her hair parted at weird angles and sunscreen didn't reach. He ignored her entirely, focused on his book and she sighed.

Noin had retreated into the house to cook (she had been informed they switched off culinary duties most nights) fifteen minutes ago and now it was just the two of them and the seagulls. Off to the right she could make out the hazy coastal highway, the winding road that leads down to the small house, and farther along was the overlook Heero had brought her to over a year ago. Turning back to the churning water she can see a sailboat on the horizon, teetering and drifting lazily one moment and precariously the next.

When he speaks to her, she's surprised. For a moment she imagines he's speaking to the seagull brashly contemplating stealing a few of the crisps he has on the plate next to him. "If you have something to say, say it. Staring does nothing for you or me, and your nose is turning red by the way." It's the nose part that convinces her it's she, not the bird (who has a perfectly _normal_ colored beak) he's talking to.

"I could say the same for you," she snaps back, remembering previous meals. There's a definite tilt to the corners of his mouth and he turns slightly, staring at her through pale eyes. She searches his face, trying to see a resemblance between him and Miss Relena and they're there, in the tilt of the chin, the shape of the eyes and brow. "I feel like I'm under a microscope when I'm around you. Are you comparing me to my father as well? Everyone else does."

"Yes." She isn't surprised that he is. She isn't really surprised that he admitted to it; more at the tone than anything else. "Your father and I were close friends when we were," a small, bitter smile.

"When you were what?"

"When we were friends." He sets the book aside and turns fully to face her. He has to tuck blonde hair behind ears and she marvels that _anyone_ would want hair as long as his (though Dorothy does have longer). "He was a good man, your father. I'm sure Une has told you that though." She starts to nod but he continues before her head can finish. "I've known Dorothy since she was a child, tagging along with Treize wanting to test out his newest rifle, though she did prefer the saber he got at ten."

"I really don't see…"

"The way I saw it, there were two types of Khushrenada's: your father and then the one's your cousin descended from. Treize was compassionate, Dorothy ruthless. You father valued human life and the decisions they made, found them fascinating subjects to study." His eyes scrunch as he stares into the sun for a moment. She doesn't tell him it's bad for his eyes. "Dorothy on the other hand had no such inclinations. She exploited the people she came in contact with, manipulated them and laughed at them. She knew their weaknesses and she dug in deeply, using them to further herself."

She shifts, wondering what her cousin did to him.

"I understand why of course, politics would have made her behave exactly that way. Taught her no remorse and only cold drive. I sometimes regret she never attended Lake Victoria because I'm sure she would have been amazing. And then I picture her drive, her intents, and I see someone drastically different, someone who would not have hesitated to kill, even when faced with surrender." Zechs's face contorts, pulls in on itself and he's silent, reliving something she can't see. She isn't sure she wants to.

"Lovely insight into my family," she finally snaps at him.

He has the audacity to _chuckle_. She feels her blood boil furiously beneath her skin, the warmth in her face changing from potentially hazardous sunburn to downright anger. Her eyes narrow and he glances at her, the laughter dying but the mirth remaining in the pale eyes. He reaches up and pushes blonde bangs away from his eyes.

"Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if you had been your father's child."

"I _am_ his child," Mariemaia growls.

His eyes look pained and some of the mask (not the horrendous silver one she's seen in pictures that he used to wear) falls away. But only for a moment. "No, you aren't. You're his most definitely because I can see it in the tilt of your chin, the line of your nose, the color of your hair. But I don't think you share the same ideals as your father; and I have to wonder how much of that is Dekim's influence."

"I am sorry if I don't live up to your _expectations_ of a child of the Tragically Late and Magnificently Great Treize Khushrenada. It isn't my fault he died and I never met him." She stands quickly, catching her footing on the uneven shoreline and he watches her dispassionately. "I am not my father Mr. _Peacecraft_ and I would be quite happy if you and the rest of the world would cease to compare me to him."

She isn't sure if she's happy or even more frustrated when she hears Noin's voice calling from the back porch to come in for dinner.

--

"Zechs, _no_, you didn't!"

She hears their voices through the guest bedroom door. Turning onto her side she pulls her knees tighter to her chest. The room is nice, strange but comfortable. The bed larger than what she's used to, the walls painted soft beige and deep blues. Seascape. She has a feeling Noin did the decorating but it does bring a smile to her face trying to picture Zechs picking out paint swatches and gauze curtains.

"I can't help it Noin. I look at her and I see him but I hear Dorothy."

"The past is the _past_ Zechs or do you need to be reminded of your own Millardo?" Her voice drops at the end and Mariemaia strains to hear past the soft rifts of classical music playing somewhere in the house. "I didn't think so. She's a _child_ and treating her like the bane to modern society is not the way to win her trust."

"She tried to rule the world."

Her nose crinkles at this. If it hadn't of been for the Gundam Pilots (and Dekim's weird trust in the two that had joined their side) then she would have _succeeded_. She has a feeling deep down somewhere around the region of her appendix that this is what really bothers him about her. She almost succeeded yet he'd failed. Or maybe it was the fact that she'd abducted his sister…

"So did you." Noin's voice is quiet again.

"I did. And I paid the consequences." There's silence and the swell of one of Mozart's requiems fills the void. When it passes she realizes they had kept talking. "Noin, no. _Noin_. Do not keep treating her as if she's normal. She's _Treize's_ daughter for God's sake."

"Exactly." The woman's voice is near-snarl now and Mariemaia tilts her head, trying to hear everything. "You need to treat her like a human being Zechs. You need to put away whatever it is you're dealing with and treat her like a _child_. She was misguided, so what? Help her out. Understand her a little. Une says she's come a long way." Silence. "You _owe_ Treize that much, don't you? Sort yourself out; I'm going to go check on her."

Footsteps sounded down the hall and the door creaked open, warm yellow light spilling in and drowning out the moonlight. Noin stood there, a glass of something in her hands and an aggravated look on her face. It relaxed instantly though, dark eyes softening to violet, when she saw Mariemaia's eyes staring back at her.

"You heard everything, huh?" At the girl's nod she sighed and then smiled. "Can I come in then?" she asked, flicking on the dresser light. She nodded and watched as Noin entered, closing the door partway, heading to the clothes she'd dropped on the overstuffed chair and straightening up once she's set the glass down. "I'm sorry. Both for what you heard and what he said…earlier." A frown marks her face momentarily.

"Why are you so nice to me?" She sits up and feels ridiculously small in the queen-sized bed. The cream colored covers tangle around her bare legs and she shivers when Noin opens a window that faces the water. "He's right, about everything I suppose."

"Don't listen to him. Please." Noin takes a seat at the end of the bed and rubs her temples irritably. "He…He doesn't understand children. And I don't know what else. But don't listen to him. Because he _isn't_ right. About anything, let alone _everything_…" There's a pause and a wry smile twists at her lips. "Except maybe Dorothy."

Mariemaia smiles back a bit. She knows she should feel annoyed that they're categorizing her only remaining family member but from what she's heard it is an accurate description. Dorothy herself seems amused by what history has to say about her. She pulls her knees up and rests her chin on them, watching Noin fiddle with a bracelet, then the duvet.

"You knew my father as well. Am I really so drastically different that people can't see the resemblance? Did Dekim really _taint_ me that much?" Her voice is getting higher, whinier, with every word. She bites her tongue and takes a few deep breaths. "Am I really so different than everyone else in the world? Besides the whole taking-over-the-world bit and being the daughter of an Oz soldier and a member of the Barton Foundation?"

The bed moves and the next thing she knows Noin is sitting with an arm around her, pressing her cheek to the top of her hair. "Sh. Don't say that. You aren't tainted and anyone who says so is an idiot." She relaxes, leaning into Noin. Une had tried the same tactics early on in their relationship but she had pushed her away, feeling that once again she was being compared to her father. But Noin felt different. "And yes, I did know your father. Not as well as Zechs, but well enough."

"Mm." The wind off the ocean is cool, refreshing and salty. She relishes the feel of it against her face, her sunburned nose is especially grateful. "He doesn't like me much."

"He's just confused. You have to understand, he's had no interaction with children. He doesn't know how to talk to one since he never really _had_ a normal childhood in the first place." Her fingers run through the girl's hair and Mariemaia sighs, eyelids drooping. "And you're…you're _different_ than what he expected."

"Story of my life."

"Ignore him, Marie," Noin murmurs. She tangles her fingers in the short hair, brushes it away from the warm forehead. "He still regrets Treize's death and their falling out from before. I think that's why he can't face you yet." She sighs, laying her down on the bed and standing. "Get some sleep, Une will be home tomorrow night."

She watches as Noin straightens a few more things before exiting the room, closing the door behind her.

--

The water is cool as it laps against her bare ankles. The wood beneath her is sun warmed and scratchy under her palms. Sitting here with the breeze ruffling her hair and tugging at the oversized hat she'd borrowed from Noin she understands why they chose to make this their home. A seagull bobs in the water a few yards from the dock and she watches it listlessly.

The dock reverberates beneath her, wood planks shivering under heavy footsteps. She doesn't need to look up to know who's approaching. Even so, she stiffens when his shadow falls over her. He doesn't say anything for awhile and neither does she, instead she tilts her chin slightly and kicks a foot in the saltwater.

He finally sits down next to her, one leg dangling into the water, the other pulled up and resting on the wood planks. "I was…harsh before," he says finally.

"Most are, I'm used to it." Her tone is off-hand, her eyes dispassionate. Her words are true though. She's faced too many dignitaries to list that have flinched from her handshake or have peered at her over bifocals with tired, intrigued eyes. She doesn't really notice anymore, or so she enjoys telling herself.

"I was raised to know better." She isn't sure if his bitterness is directed at her or himself. She can guess though. "I have no reason to treat you the way I was treated after the war," he adds after a moment more of silence.

She turns to face his profile and frowns. "Not many do but that doesn't seem to stop them. In all fairness its human nature; or so Dorothy's told me." She can't hide the small smile at his wince at the mention of her cousin's name. Once again she wants to know the history but can't bring herself to ask. "I have a feeling Noin put you up to this."

"She may have mentioned it would be the right, responsible, adult way to handle things. And she may have threatened replacing the shampoo with pink hair dye," he mutters with a fond smile.

"You don't really like me. I can understand that, really," she adds when he turns to her. "I just wish that you didn't like me for _me_ and not for past actions. Because everyone makes mistakes and yes, maybe mine were more…drastic…than others, but you are no judge. No offense."

He chuckles quietly and looks out at the horizon in front of them. "I don't get along well with people Mariemaia. I don't understand them, I hardly understand myself as it is." She nods and kicks her feet idly. "I know you're curious about your father too. And that I should tell you about him – the real him, not the side he showed to the public."

"That would be nice. But then again I'm sure Une or Dorothy or even Noin could tell me."

"They could," he agrees.

"But you feel obligated."

"Your father was a good man Mariemaia. He was misguided, we all were, but his misguided wasn't as bad as ours. Probably since he caused…that's another story. He knew what he wanted and he went after it. And he got it. Whatever it was. Charm, charisma, and money can do that. Especially when that's coupled with intelligence." He takes a break, head tilted back momentarily.

"He didn't like what he did – to people that is," he added after a few minutes of stretched silence. "He knew it was necessary but he still didn't like it. He liked it even less when the Dolls were brought in because then nothing had _purpose_ and what was the point of a war fought with robots? Nothing. There were no casualties, there was no victor. It was a child's game for old men in out-dated uniforms."

"I can understand that." She adjusted the hat carefully as the clouds moved. "There would be no end to the so-called soldiers, no reason to stop fighting. It makes sense that he would loathe it."

"He did. We all did. But he believed in human nature. He believed in peace and his ways of getting it, while they left something to be desired, they probably would have worked."

"You admired him, didn't you?" she asked, voice quiet.

"He was my closest friend after Noin of course. One of the only people to know my real name, my real past. His family took me in, educated me, after the fall of Sank and he got me into Lake Victoria and protected me. I owed him my very life." He laughs and she looks at him curiously. "We were strange when we were younger. We would stay up late talking politics, fence or practice our target shooting. He especially liked shooting targets with the faces of the Romefeller Foundation on them. I believe it was Dorothy that introduced him to that particular form of…entertainment."

She laughs along with him, her voice high while his is low. She can picture the images of the old clan of dignified patrons, the ones who supported Oz, being shot up by her family, the heads of Romefeller. When she finally stops laughing he's watching her, a wry smile tugging at his mouth and a faint glint to his eyes.

"What?" she demands, haughtiness echoing through her voice.

"You just looked like a real kid for once." He shrugged and leaned back against one of the supports. She glared at him and he shrugged indifferently. "At any rate, what I came here to say' is I'm sorry about what I said yesterday. You _are_ different than your father, your ideals, your personality, and your looks even. I know Dorothy has said this to you as well so you can stop wrinkling your nose. But Noin is right though."

"Noin seems very level headed," Mariemaia agreed.

He laughed softly. "She is, she has to be to put up with me. Or insane."

"Right, so what is she correct about?"

"You're a child. You believed what Dekim said and you did as you were told. You aren't your father and you aren't your mother and thank God you aren't Dorothy either. You're you, Mariemaia Barton-Khushrenada and you made mistakes. But you've grown from them."

Her eyes dance as she turns to face him. "Why, Mr. Merquise are you saying that you _accept_ me?" From the look on his face she has a feeling she resembles Dorothy at the moment. She can't keep the glee from her voice.

He shrugs. "I had to eventually, didn't I?" He stands slowly and looks down at her. "By the way, Noin sent me to tell you that she's ready to go so you should hurry up and get ready." His laughter follows her as she sprints up to the house.

--

"Did you have a good weekend?" She looked up from her unpacking, watching as Une leaned against the doorframe to her room. "You look like you got a bit of a tan, spend a lot of time on the beach?"

"My knees and nose are sunburned and it hurts to brush my hair so I think my scalp is too," she grumbles as she shoves clothes in the hamper. Une laughs as she enters the room fully and helps her empty the bag. "It's not funny, it clashes with my hair."

"Mm," Une nods. She holds up a shirt and raises her eyebrows. "This looks new."

Mariemaia feels her cheeks turn red and she ducks her head as she shoves her sandals into the closet. "Uh, yeah…Noin took me shopping earlier today."

"Really?" Amusement tinges her voice and the girl winces slightly. "How did you like them though? Did they subject you to any other horrors?"

"Laugh all you want. At least I wasn't stuck with diplomats all weekend," she snapped. She caught Une giving her a faint, fuzzy smile and she sighed. "I'm sure you've already spoken to Noin so there's nothing really to add." They sat on the bed and she tucked her legs up under her, fingers trailing over embroidered butterflies with sparkly, multicolored wings. "They were…pleasant. I like Noin," she admitted.

"And Zechs?"

"Is a civilized Heero Yuy and a less chauvinistic Wufei," she grumbles. "But I think…I think we _understand_ each other." At Une's knowing look her eyes narrow. "You planned this, didn't you? You _wanted_ me to get to know them, didn't you?"

"Whatever would make you think that?" Her guardian looks too innocent though.

"It just seems rather _convenient_."

"Well, think what you want but no, I didn't plan on it. And Noin's the one who wanted you there by the way. I was actually thinking of leaving you with Dorothy."

"Noin…wanted me?"

"Yes. She told me that she wanted to get to know you better and figured you might enjoy a weekend on the ocean." There's a pause and a faint grin. "Plus she seems to want to convince Zechs that starting a family is not a _bad_ thing and was hoping your presence would be helpful."

"Used again," she sighs. She flops back on the bed, head hitting the pillows and fingers closing around the stuffed rabbit Une had got her at Easter. Her eyes close when Une's cool fingers brush her hair out of her face.

"At least it was for a good cause this time. And you did have fun."

"I think I killed Noin's chances of having a kid though. He may understand me, accept me even, but he certainly wasn't too keen on me being around. I think I cramped his style or something, especially when he was threatened with pink hair dye."

Une laughs and shakes her head. "That would be something to see. I _am_ glad you enjoyed yourself. And your nose really doesn't look too bad you realize?"

"I look like Rudolph."

"You don't have the antlers." She stands and hangs the bag on the hook in the closet. "Goodnight Marie." She doesn't see the look Une sends her from the doorway when she sees her clutching the rabbit to her chest as she curled on her side. "Sleep well."


End file.
